The private security and military company Gruppe Wagner sent nearly 50,000 prisoners to the war against Ukraine. But casualties among the mercenaries are high, satellite images now show. There are just under 10,000 fighters left, the NGO “Rus Sidyaschshaya” (Russia behind bars) recently reported, the rest are probably killed, missing, surrendered or deserted.
Numerous soldiers of the Wagner group are said to have died, especially during the fierce fighting for the disputed city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. This is also confirmed by recent Maxar satellite images (see video above) of a rapidly expanding cemetery in a southern Russian village where mercenaries from the infamous group are buried.
The number of Wagner graves is increasing rapidly
A photo taken on Jan. 24 shows about 170 to 200 graves in a cemetery used by the mercenaries on the outskirts of the small farming community of Bakinskaya in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Two months earlier there were clearly few graves to be seen there. The resting places of the mercenaries are decorated with simple wooden crosses and colorful wreaths with the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group, Reuters reports.
The news agency has matched the names of at least 39 of the dead there and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts, and has also spoken to family, friends and lawyers of some of the dead. It is possible that the number of dead Wagner mercenaries is even higher, as many of the fallen soldiers were most likely cremated, it is said.
Hired mercenaries in prisons
The Wagner Group is owned by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as “Putin’s cook” because of his good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He recruited thousands of prisoners in Russian prisons. He promised their release at the end of their contract, but at the same time threatened deserters with summary execution if they tried to flee or surrender to the enemy.
Of the approximately 50,000 fighters of the notorious private army who were or are still deployed in Ukraine, some 10,000 are mercenaries and 40,000 prisoners whom Prigozhin – he himself was in prison during the Soviet era – sometimes even personally recruited in prisons. The businessman is wanted by the US federal police FBI, the authorities consider the Wagner group a “criminal organization”, as it is called.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
